MONTREAL — Kris Letang heard the crowd light up every time Lane Hutson handled the puck on Monday night — and he could see why.
“He's a guy with incredible offensive skills, a lot of deception,” the veteran Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman said of the Montreal Canadiens’ rookie sensation. “The opponents get caught on the ice and don't know how to react.”
Once a young offensive defenceman himself, the now 37-year-old Letang also knows there can be growing pains when breaking into the NHL.
The 20-year-old Hutson didn’t make the scoresheet in a 6-3 Canadiens loss to the Penguins but continued to put on a show and logged 24:45 of ice time — the second most on his team.
The shifty five-foot-nine, 162-pound defenceman with awe-inspiring talent created something nearly every time he touched the puck — dancing at the blue line and generating chances all night. He even deked Sidney Crosby late in the second period, bringing the fans out of their seats.
But Hutson also finished minus-4 and committed a turnover on Letang’s key goal that put the Penguins up 5-3 with eight minutes remaining.
Letang — a three-time Stanley Cup champion with 745 career points — has been in Hutson’s shoes before.
"With an offensive player, there will be nights when you play against an opportunistic team like ours, and you make a small mistake and it costs you,” Letang said.
Hutson forced the puck to the front of the net from behind the Penguins goal line, only for Pittsburgh forward Rickard Rakell to intercept. The Penguins then rushed down the ice and Letang buried a feed from Evgeni Malkin to give Pittsburgh the two-goal lead.
"You have to be able to choose when it's the right time to make those plays," Letang said. "It's easy to fall into the mindset that you have to make something happen on every shift."
"When you have the crowd at the Bell Centre getting you excited like that, even I was excited to watch him. What that creates is 'oh (crap), I have to do something," he added.
“There are shifts on the ice where I do nothing at all, sometimes it just doesn't happen — a little pass along the boards, nothing flashy. But at the end of the night, you finish plus-2, and we win the game.”
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said Hutson — who has six points in six career NHL games — will learn to manage when to take risks and when to avoid them.
“He’s gonna learn as he goes what he can get away with, it’s part of his learning,” St. Louis said. “You gotta be careful how you coach those guys. Is this a trend? Is this a one-off in terms of his risk-taking? But he plays with a lot of good intentions.”
Letang said that learning process was one of his biggest challenges early in his decorated career.
“My biggest flaw was that. (Former Penguins coach) Dan Bylsma kept hammering it into my head, saying 'I'm afraid to put you on the ice because I don't know what I'm going to get — the guy who creates, plays well, is confident, or the 50-50, will he go or not?' He didn't want that because it stressed him out,” Letang said.
“But how old is (Hutson)? 20? When I was 20 I was dumb, I was making silly plays all over the ice.”
Canadiens players and fans will live with the odd mistake considering what Hutson is bringing to the table nightly.
“He makes our lives so much easier the way he can create and find you in the offensive zone. When you’re on the ice with him you just better be ready, the puck’s coming,” veteran winger Brendan Gallagher said.
“He’s just a good player. He just goes out and does what he’s been doing since he showed up here. It’s not added pressure, he’s just a phenomenal talent and I think the fans are going to enjoy watching him for a long time.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press